Thursday, February 28, 2008

Sucker!

What is it with wheelsuckers? The other day I was enjoying a leisurely afternoon cruise and managed to catch another rider. The rider was going the same direction, a little more slowly than me. I hung back about a dozen yards for a while to see if they were going to increase their speed, but they were actually decreasing a little. I decided to pass them and resume my pace. After passing and getting down the road a little ways, I hear a chain on derailluer cogs close behind me. This goofball decided to drop in on my wheel unannounced, which is something I detest when it comes to strangers who I do not know, or trust to have sufficient bicycle handling skills. I immediately slowed my cadence and informed this person that they were unwelcome. When this person decided to laugh at my disdain, they were treated to a descriptive expletive. The best part was watching them looking over their shoulder after shifting down their cogset and trying to drop me. They never got closer than a hundred yards or further than a quarter of a mile, all the while I'm keeping the same cadence that a one speed bicycle allows riders to do with relative ease. He must be very proud of himself, "dropping" someone on a 24 year old steel bicycle with one gear and probably weighs about eight pounds more than his carbon wonderbike does.